Voting underway in Barishal, Khulna city elections

Voters have begun casting their ballots to elect public representatives for the cities of Khulna and Barishal.

With about 800,000 total voters in both city corporations, polling started at 412 voting centres via electronic voting machines at 8 am on Monday and is set to continue until 4 pm.

Election commissioners Ahsan Habib Khan, Rasida Sultana, and Md Alamgir are monitoring the election in real time through CCTV cameras at the Election Commission headquarters in Dhaka’s Agargaon.

The EC's Assistant Director Ashadul Haque said the voting process has been progressing smoothly and there has not been any untoward incident at the polling centres so far.

Candidates from the ruling Awami League, opposition Jatiya Party, Zaker Party and Islami Andolan Bangladesh are vying for posts in the municipal bodies. However, the BNP's absence on the ballots raises the prospects of yet more uncompetitive elections.

With all eyes on the cities ahead of the national vote, the Election Commission is determined to conduct fair elections.

Amid a rift within the ruling party in Barishal, the Jatiya Party's Md Iqbal Hossain has emerged as a strong contender in the mayoral race. Islami Andolan's Mufti Syed Md Faizul Karim is also in the reckoning.

The Awami League's mayoral candidate Abul Khair Abdullah alias Khokon Serniabat has urged the people of the city to vote for his party's 'boat' symbol to continue the stream of development initiated by the government.

Jatiya Party's Iqbal has promised to put an end to the 'theft' of public resources if elected. On the other hand, Islami Andolan's Karim has pledged to take all necessary steps to ensure gas connectivity in Bhola amid complaints that a lack of fuel supplies has stunted industrial growth in the region.

Meanwhile, the Awami League's mayoral candidate in Khulna, Talukdar Abdul Khalek, is running on the pledge to make the city "modern, eco-friendly and smart".

Although the BNP has not officially fielded any candidates for the mayorship, at least eight leaders and activists of the party are vying for councillor posts in the upcoming polls. Five leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami are also taking part in the elections.

Awami League leaders have alleged that many of the BNP's candidates are running independently. But the BNP has refuted these claims.